Brain Prosthetic June 19, 2011

Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of watching a loved one’s memory deteriorate through dementia of one for or another. If your loved one is a rat, there is already a solution, a device that connects directly to the brain and replaces long term memory. If this research can be extended to primates (which is planned), then to humans, it could mean a cure for Alzheimer’s. But it would also mean that human memory could be digitally encoded. Even if we don’t understand at present what information is being encoded by the device, that information could be preserved and potentially decoded in the future. The memories of our loved ones could be kept in a digital library even after their passing.

Indeed, as I read this I felt an uneasiness settle over me. It’s that “fear of the unknown” thing, I guess. But if it could “heal” those suffering from dementia, it’s a good thing, right? I bet it would be a very expensive procedure, though.